I'm excited and nervous I'm flying to Detroit to look at and strongly considering buying my first oos rental property.

Retail footprints for anchors are decreasing and the uses are changing, however, retail demand is super strong it's just in different sectors than we have seen in the past. 

@Justin C.I would strongly recommend buying a multi family (3 or 4 units) and living in one of the units. 

Depending on how strong your assets are there are loans out there that would use your assets to get a loan approved.

I'm not sure how much you're tied to that city, but I would strongly consider moving to a more affordable market if you can.

@Jake Goldman Indianapolis is a strong cash flow market if you buy in the right areas.

In addition to good cash flow, both have strong economic and demographic fundamentals like job growth, population growth and a diverse, modern economy.

I'd strongly consider renting   When I lived in hawaii for a few years, I rented a room with some buddies which allowed me to continue to build my cash position before buying my first property upon relocating to the DC area.

Although the market here in Vegas is very strong and continues to increase in value, it may not be the best place for getting large ROI on buy and hold properties.

I know many HOA's won't release documentation to a buyer purchasing within the community until after appraisal and inspection of a property are complete- and then, I'm not quite sure how clear their books may be or how strong of a predictor they would provide in your estimations of future special assessments.